'First family’ that ran the country for four generations out on bail

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the “first family” that ran the country for four generations was out on bail in a case of financial irregularities and that former finance minister P Chidambaram was making rounds of courts, as he took the attack to the Nehru-Gandhi family and the Congress in an interview to ANI.

On the BJP’s performance in the recent assembly elections, he said while the mandate in Chhattisgarh was against it, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan had thrown up hung assemblies despite the party facing anti-incumbency there.

“This is a big thing,” the PM said, responding to views that his government had not moved much against those involved in UPA-era scams and Robert Vadra in a land deal that the BJP had raised before elections in 2014. But he also said there will be no witch-hunting.

“I am not in favour of anybody facing problems just because he is our political rival. But action against those who are involved in corruption has begun,” the PM said.

On assembly election results, Modi said: “There was anti-incumbency of 15 years (in MP)”. In Telangana and Mizoram, he said, no one had given a chance to the BJP.

On his slogan of ‘Congress-Mukt Bharat’, Modi said by that slogan meant freedom from the Congress culture. The Congress too should get rid of that, he added.
The PM dismissed talk that the BJP might not get more than 180 seats in the Lok Sabha elections of 2019, saying that similar predictions were made even in 2014. It will be a “public versus coalition” contest, he said, adding that Modi was a “manifestation” of “public love and blessings”.

“There is nothing concrete that the (opposition) alliance has said or done unitedly. Their single-point agenda is Modi, do this to Modi. There is no articulation on what they will do for the nation,” the PM said. “The public knows that earlier it was decentralised corruption — those in the states looted the states and those in the Centre looted at the Centre. People will decide whether or not they should ally with the forces of corruption coming together. Their top leaders can well join ranks, but the people will never connect with this.”

On the issue of mob lynching and the comment of Pakistan PM Imran Khan on minorities in India, Modi said no incident of such violence was acceptable to him and that he condemned it.

Modi took on Pakistan saying that the neighbouring country would never improve on the basis of one war, referring to repeated terror attacks from across the border even after the surgical strikes carried out by India. “It will take some time for Pakistan to mend its ways,” the PM said, adding that Islamabad was today isolated in the world due to its support to terrorism. The PM said while triple talaq was a matter of gender justice, the entry of young women in the Sabrimala temple was related to tradition. “Most Islamic countries have banned triple talaq. So, it is not an issue of faith but gender equality,” he said.

On Sabrimala, he said every temple has its own beliefs and there are temples where men are not allowed. “We should read minutely what the respected lady judge said on the Sabrimala case,” the PM said.